Sparkling Snowglobe
by Shade5
Summary: The final chapter to Shattered Snowglobe!


Summary: Sydney and Vaughn uncover a new piece to a bigger puzzle and, of course, the takedown of SD-6!  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 9  
  
One week later, Sydney sat at her SD-6 desk, a CIA earpiece in her ear. Most of her "co-workers" had already gone home, except for Marshall and a few other distant acquaintances. Sloane and her father were away at the fake Alliance meeting, and Vaughn was on the other end of the earpiece giving her continual updates.  
  
"He's almost given the Alliance everything we need," Vaughn whispered into her ear. "When you give me the ok, I'll come in and help you take everything. By tomorrow or the next day, the CIA will have tracked down and captured many of Sloane's associates, and when Sloane comes back in two days, our own CIA team will be ready to storm the SD-6 building. You and I will be at the front of course."  
  
Sydney could practically hear him smile. It sent pleasant shivers up her spine to hear Vaughn say "our CIA team."  
  
Sydney looked around at her bleak and barren desk. It was a good thing she didn't keep anything personal at it. It would look a little suspicious if she suddenly took it all home.  
  
She absent-mindedly scribbled notes on a legal pad, trying to make herself look incredibly busy. After all, she was "working late" tonight.  
  
Marshall approached her desk quietly. "Um, good night Miss Bristow," he stammered. "I hope you don't stay here too late. A pretty woman like yourself should be out on the town. Not that I think you're pretty. I mean, you are pretty, but I don't think about you that way, that would be highly unprofessional of me." He paused, embarrassed, while Sydney tried to hold back her laughter. "Well anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Good night Marshall," she said sweetly and returned to her scribbling.  
  
-------  
  
By 9 PM, Sloane had given up all the information Sydney needed to gather his lists and gadgets. Everyone else had gone home. The SD-6 building was like a high tech ghost town.  
  
"Vaughn, it's clear," she said loudly and unafraid.  
  
"Ok. I'm on my way," he replied.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney sat at her desk, shaking her foot eagerly while she waited for Vaughn. It was an anxious habit, but she always had controlled it on missions. Now she couldn't.  
  
She saw Vaughn come cautiously through the glass door into the main SD-6 chamber. He smiled at Sydney as she stood up.  
  
"Let's go," they said at the same time.  
  
Sydney led Vaughn to the SD-6 vault. He entered the codes Sloane had given up with no problem and they stepped inside lightly.  
  
Vaughn pulled out a small map. "These dots are where Sloane keeps the things we need," he said, pointing to the map.  
  
Sydney silently led him to the left side of the vault and began opening drawers and cabinets, pulling out files and gadgets. Vaughn wandered to the right side, he too helping to empty the contents of the vault.  
  
They met in the middle, with one huge cabinet one third the size of the wall looming massively in front of them. It's contents were encased by solid double doors. Sydney put her hand on the left knob while Vaughn grabbed the right.  
  
"One," he said.  
  
"Two," she replied.  
  
"Three," they uttered simultaneously while pulling open the doors.  
  
Behind the doors, there was a small room, about the size of the SD-6 "conversation" room. The walls, ceilings, and floors were all blank and black. In the center of the room, there was a single stark table.  
  
Vaughn and Sydney approached the table. Vaughn picked up a golden box, the table's only tenant.  
  
He glanced at Sydney, who nodded at him in silent response.  
  
Vaughn lifted the box's golden lid.  
  
A small, faded parchment resting on a red velvet interior gazed back up at them.  
  
Sydney pulled out the parchment and Vaughn put the box back on the table.  
  
"It's a will," she said, her eyes scanning the page.  
  
"Rambaldi's," Vaughn replied, eyeing the signature at the bottom.  
  
"He said if his elixir for eternal life failed than all his inventions and writings were to be scattered across the globe at the following locations and this will to be destroyed," Sydney read.  
  
"What are the locations?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"Copenhagen, Minsk, the Galapagos, Asuncion, Haifa..." she trailed off. "Sloane's never sent me to any of these places. Rambaldi even included specific latitude and longitude points in the cities. The exact locations are even more pinpointed by angles in accordance to specific stars on certain dates and times," she described. She looked up at Vaughn when she was finished reading the will. "This can't be right Vaughn," she said, shaking her head.  
  
"Rambaldi must still be alive," Vaughn concluded, although equally confused.  
  
"That would explain why it's so hard for Sloane to find the locations of his artifacts. He has the list of where they would be," Sydney said.  
  
"And the will is still intact," Vaughn added.  
  
They momentarily paused, silent, not knowing what to say or think about this newfound development.  
  
"And all this time we thought he was dead," Vaughn said in disbelief. "Well, this is certainly a huge help to the CIA," he said, placing the will back in the box and packing it up with everything else.  
  
"Is that everything?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Yeah. Let's go."  
  
-------  
  
Sydney and Vaughn stood in the SD-6 parking garage, all the items they had taken were packed away in the CIA's truck.  
  
Vaughn took Sydney's hand.  
  
"Remember, even though we've retrieved all of these things, SD-6 hasn't been brought down yet," he told Sydney.  
  
"I know," she said. "Don't worry Vaughn."  
  
"Ok then," he replied. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "It'll all be over in two days," he said reassuringly.  
  
-------  
  
It was two days later.  
  
Sydney was standing at a magazine rack in a bookshop. She was on her SD-6 lunch break. She was busy leafing through Newsweek when Vaughn stepped up beside her. It took all she had not to look at him. "This is the last time you'll ever have to not look at him in public," she thought to herself. "You can do it Syd."  
  
"Hey," she heard Vaughn whisper.  
  
"What's the good word?" she whispered back.  
  
"Three quarters of Sloane's contacts are in CIA custody. We have the rest of them under surveillance, but they don't know anything that important. They'll be taken into custody after the takedown as well though. As for Sloane, there's a CIA comprised SWAT team waiting in a van outside."  
  
Sydney could feel Vaughn's eyes staring at her.  
  
Against her judgment, she looked up.  
  
Her mind raced.  
  
She and Vaughn were in public. And they were looking at each other.  
  
Sydney couldn't bear to hold back a purely joyful smile.  
  
"Come on Syd," he smiled back. "It's time to go."  
  
She happily followed Vaughn out to the CIA van.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney and Vaughn stood outside the internal entrance to SD-6, clad in bulletproof vests, adorned with guns, and backed by twenty burly CIA men.  
  
Sydney's adrenaline level could not have been higher. This was the day she had been waiting for. Deep inside, she knew that it was going to work.  
  
She gave Vaughn the ok and the team marched determinedly into the main SD-6 room, where all of the desks were.  
  
Everyone stared at Sydney in disbelief as they raised their hands in surrender and tried to figure out what she was doing.  
  
Jack Bristow rose from his desk and joined the team. "CIA," he declared. "Keep your hands up and don't move," he ordered sternly.  
  
Sydney left the main room to find Sloane. She kicked open the door to his office and hissed, "Get your hands in the air you sick bastard."  
  
He whirled around in his chair and raised a curious eyebrow. But before he could say anything, Jack and Vaughn entered behind her and tied Sloane's wrists and ankles and gagged him.  
  
"Dad and I are CIA," Sydney declared. "We've been working against you under your nose. And now it's finally paid off. Ever since you killed Danny I've wanted revenge. I've risked my life just for this day. I've lied to my friends for this day. And I've been kept from sleep at nights because I was wondering if this day would ever come and if it was worth it all. But believe me, it is," she growled. "SD-6 is finished."  
  
Sloane looked pleadingly at Jack. "It's true," he affirmed. "It's all over."  
  
-------  
  
Seven hours later, Sydney, Jack, and Vaughn stood up from the huge table in the CIA conference room. They had finished going over the past few days' events for different CIA agents, for what seemed like the thousandth time. Sydney had signed all of the appropriate resignation papers.  
  
When they were all standing, Sydney began to cry. But this time it wasn't out of desperation or loathing or worry. These were tears of joy.  
  
Jack Bristow awkwardly pulled Sydney to his chest in a tight hug. It was the first hug Sydney could remember sharing with her father since she was a child. And it felt good.  
  
"Thanks Dad," she whispered.  
  
She pulled herself away and grasped Vaughn's hand, leading him out of the room and toward the elevator; the exit.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney and Vaughn left the CIA building hand in hand. They proceeded to share dinner - at the same table - at an outdoor café. They talked and laughed about everyday things. After dinner, Vaughn walked Sydney home. Neither of them checked for tails. Sydney even invited him inside.  
  
Later, as Sydney lay in her bed, entangled with Vaughn's sleeping body, she thought about how great her life was about to get. She was filled with hope as she dreamed of her future. Today, a sparkling new snowglobe had replaced her dark shattered one.  
  
Her brain fluxed as remainders of the day's events darted in and out of her memory. But her mind did linger on one thought.  
  
When she left the CIA building that day, she hadn't looked back.  
  
~THE END~  
  
Thank you so much for reading my story! Please let me know what you thought! ;)  
  
-Shade 


End file.
